Chapter 5: Blood Spirit Sect

  In front of the kang, there was a water bucket filled with thick wolf blood.

  Xi Ya sat on the edge of the kang, holding Xie Yu Xiao in her arms. Xi Ting used a small celadon bowl to scoop up a bowl of wolf blood, wiped the rim with a cloth, and handed it to Xie Yu Xiao's mouth. Xie Yu Xiao opened his mouth and drank it down mouthful by mouthful.

  The wolf's blood was salty and fishy, just thinking about it made one want to vomit, let alone drinking it. Xie Yuxiao almost threw up several times, but in order to survive, she still swallowed it down hard.

  He drank bowl after bowl of wolf blood, but he didn't feel bloated at all. It seemed that the wolf blood disappeared as soon as it entered his stomach.

  After drinking more than half a bucket, Xie Yuxiao's energy was restored. He wiped away the remaining bloodstains from his mouth and jumped down from the kang. Underfoot was the bucket filled with wolf blood, he intentionally or unintentionally glanced at it, and after one glance, his throat moved, and he couldn't help but vomit. He hurriedly covered his mouth and said to Xi Yu standing beside him: "Quickly take that thing away, just looking at it makes me want to throw up, I won't be able to hold it in, hurry."

  Xi Ya busied herself, carrying the remaining half bucket of wolf blood to the corner of the wall. Then she turned around and asked Xie Yu Xiao: "Xiao Ge, what's going on?" Xie Yu Xiao patted his chest, smiled, and revealed two rows of teeth stained with blood, saying: "It's a long story, it's a long story."

  "Huh? Rainy brother, your mouth and teeth are all bloody, it's so scary. Let me get you a toothbrush to brush your teeth."

  The lovely and cute Xiting made a ghost face at Xie Yuxiao, then ran to fetch the toothbrush and cup. Xie Yuxiao took them over, brushed his teeth, and sat down on the edge of the kang.

  "Tell your uncle what's going on," Old Xie asked.

  Xie Yuxiao thought for a moment, feeling that he had already told Uncle Xie about what happened that night, and now there was nothing to hide, so he told him everything about the Blood Spirit Pendant, using Erhu as an experiment, and treating Erhu's father's leg.

  Xie Lao stroked his beard and walked around the room twice before suddenly exclaiming with joy: "The day has finally arrived, I can finally make amends to our ancestors!" He then walked to the southwest corner of the room, lit incense in front of a stack of ancestral tablets, and bowed deeply. Seeing Xie Lao worship, Xi Yu and Xi Ting also hurried forward to follow him in bowing.

  After the ceremony, Xie Lao walked up to Xie Yu Xiao and said to Xi Yue and Xi Ting, "Blood Spirit Jade Maiden, come pay respects to our Blood Spirit Sect's second-generation Spiritual Master." Xi Yue and Xi Ting exchanged a glance, then both knelt down in front of Xie Yu Xiao, who was staring at them with his mouth agape. In unison, they said, "Blood Spirit Jade Maiden pays respects to the Spiritual Master!" Xie Yu Xiao had no idea what they were doing, so he stood there stunned for a moment before hastily pulling up the kneeling Xi Yue and Xi Ting. With a confused expression, he asked, "What are you guys doing? What's with this 'Spiritual Master' and 'Jade Maiden' business?"

  Xie Lao smiled slightly and pulled Xie Yu Xiao down to sit beside him, saying: "Ling Zhu, let me tell you a story!"

  "What story?"

  "A story from over five hundred years ago."

  "More than 500 years ago?"

  "Ah, yes." Xie Lao nodded his head, and a bloody storm unfolded in his gradually dispersing eyes: "More than 500 years ago, right at the peak of our Blood Demon Peak, a fierce battle took place. That war was one of corpses scattered all over the ground, with blood flowing like rivers..."

  "What's going on? Who's fighting who?" Xie Yu Xiao asked curiously.

  The story begins with a person named Xue Lingzi. It was in the year when Xue Lingzi was six years old that his family became inexplicably entangled in a feud from the pugilistic world. To avoid being pursued and killed by their enemies, Xue Lingzi's parents took him to hide in a mountain called Xiānyún Shān. As the days turned into months and the cold and heat passed quickly, they hid for ten years. After ten years had passed, although their lives were bitter and dull, the three of them could be considered a family living together harmoniously... However, just that winter, a disaster from heaven fell upon them.

  "What a disaster!"

  "One day, the six major sects of Jianghu suddenly joined forces and rushed up to Xiānyún Mountain, found Blood Spirit Child's family, with swords and knives pressed against them, demanding that Blood Spirit Child's parents hand over a certain ' Cultivation Secrets'."

  "'The Cultivation Manual'? Just a book? Give it to them then."

  "The key is where they have what 'Xiū Zhēn Jué', it's all just rumors from the rivers and lakes."

  "Rumors from the rivers and lakes?"

  "Uh-huh. That year, a rumor suddenly spread in the Jianghu that a person named Gu Xudao had become an immortal and left behind a book called 'The Secret of Cultivation' when he flew away on a crane from Mount Xiayun. As soon as this rumor came out, it immediately caused a large number of Jianghu people to go up the mountain to search for 'The Secret of Cultivation'. In the end, somehow the rumor said that 'The Secret of Cultivation' had fallen into the hands of Blood Spirit Child's parents who were hiding in the mountains. And so, there was the tragic event where the six major sects joined forces and threatened each other with swords."

  "The Six Great Sects are really shameless." Xiyu muttered under her breath.

  "Who says it's not? In the end, Blood Spirit Son's parents were forced to jump off the cliff of Xianyun Mountain. Seeing his parents jump, Blood Spirit Son also jumped down without hesitation. It was also that Blood Spirit Son's life was not destined to be extinguished, as he was caught by an ancient pine tree on the cliff wall and managed to save a life. Seeing the will of heaven, Blood Spirit Son also gave up his suicidal thoughts, buried his hatred in his heart, and bitterly practiced his martial arts, vowing to avenge his parents."

  "Right, we must take revenge and kill all those scoundrels."

  "Has Blood Spirit Son avenged his hatred?"

  "Xuè Líng Zǐ's martial arts talent was extremely high, and in less than ten years, he had self-taught a terrifying set of skills - the 'Blood Demon Technique'. This should have been a good thing, but unfortunately, Xuè Líng Zǐ bore a deep grudge from the Blood Sea, with an intense desire for revenge. The Blood Demon Technique he created was actually an evil technique that required absorbing human blood to increase his own power. However, in order to avenge his parents, he didn't care about much else and thus embarked on an evil path. After entering the Jianghu, he quickly forged a reputation of blood rain and carnage. On his journey for revenge, he met a man named Chóu Wújí who had also been harmed by the Six Great Sects and sought revenge against them. Later, they became acquainted with a pair of young and beautiful twin sisters who shared similar hatred. They eventually founded the Blood Spirit Sect together, with Xuè Líng Zǐ as the sect leader, Chóu Wújí as the guardian, and the twin sisters were known as the Blood Spirit Jade Maidens."

  "Can the four of them defeat the Six Great Sects?"

  "That 'Blood Demon Technique' is too overbearing and cruel. And with the Blood Spirit Son's bloodthirsty nature, his power greatly increased, they didn't take three months to bloodily wipe out the six major sects."

  "The great revenge of Xue Lingzi has finally been avenged."

  "Yes, the great revenge has been avenged. However, due to Xue Lingzi's slaughter along the way, his demonic nature has reached an uncontrollable level. In order not to create more killing karma, Xue Lingzi vowed never to use the Blood Demon Technique again. Afterwards, he and Hu Fa (the protector) Chou Wujie and Xue Ling Yu Nu retreated to the Blood Demon Peak, devoting themselves to cultivation in an attempt to wash away their demonic nature. Alas, they had become too deeply entrenched in evil, and Xue Lingzi could no longer leave human blood behind; without it, he would go mad. The protector and Yu Nu couldn't bear to see their master suffer, so from time to time they would catch some bad people and bring them back for him to devour."

  Like that, day after day, ten years passed. Xue Lingzi never practiced the Blood Demon Technique again, and the demonic nature on his body gradually receded.

  "He can finally go back to being a normal person and no longer suffer from the Blood Demon's torture."

  "The story is not over yet. Just as Xue Lingzi retreated from the Jianghu, suffered torture, and was about to completely eliminate his demonic nature, the increasingly powerful six major sects somehow received news and gathered thousands of people, charging up the Blood Demon Peak."

  "What are they doing, for revenge?"

  It's not, it's because of Xianyun Mountain. The six major sects are vying for that Xianyun Mountain, because Xianyun Mountain is also rumored to be the best place for cultivation, with spiritual energy overflowing and exotic grasses growing everywhere. It seems that as long as you stay on Xianyun Mountain, you can absorb spiritual energy and become a immortal. For this Xianyun Mountain, the six major sects have been competing for many years without a result. In the end, they set their sights on Xuě Líng Zǐ (Blood Spirit Child), saying that whoever can kill Blood Spirit Child and avenge the six major sects will be revered as the leader of the six sects and can dominate Xianyun Mountain. Therefore, they rushed up to Xuě Mó Fēng (Blood Demon Peak) again.

  That was thousands of people, while the Blood Spirit Sect only had four people. Moreover, Blood Spirit Son swore not to use the Blood Magic Technique, so they were fundamentally unable to contend with the Six Great Sects. After three days of fighting, Protector Avenging Extremity was beaten into a coma, Blood Spirit Jade Maiden was captured, and Blood Spirit Son was also covered in wounds, his physical strength severely depleted, on the verge of collapse.

  What's even more hateful is that the six major sects actually used the captured Jade Maiden's life to coerce Blood Spirit Son, wanting him to abandon his sword and surrender, disabling his martial arts. Blood Spirit Son, after ten years of secluded cultivation, had already seen through life and death, so he said that as long as they let Jade Maiden go, he would voluntarily end his own life. Who knew that the six major sects would be so overbearing, insisting that Blood Spirit Son must first disable his martial arts. How could Blood Spirit Son not know that once his martial arts were disabled, Jade Maiden's life would definitely be in danger? Just as he was hesitating, Jade Maiden and another woman simultaneously placed their necks on the long sword hanging between them, and they both perished together.

  The death of the Jade Maiden stirred up the endless hatred in Xue Lingsu. Finally, the Blood Demon's power reappeared, and nearly all of the thousands of people from the six major sects were killed. And Xue Lingsu also knew that his demonic nature had reappeared, and would once again bring about endless slaughter, and he would have to endure the suffering of human blood again. In order to avoid creating more killing karma, he rolled up the countless stones at the summit, merged himself into them, and transformed into the Blood Spirit Stone on the summit of our Blood Demon Peak.

  "Yu Nu has killed herself, and Xue Lingzi has turned into a Blood Spirit Stone. What about that Guardian, Chou Wujie?" Xie Yu Xiao asked.

  The old man shook his head and seemed unwilling to continue speaking.

  "Come on, Uncle Xie, speak up."

  "Protector of the Law, Wuji, awakened from his coma to find that Blood Demon Peak was covered in a sea of blood, with bodies torn apart and not a single person alive. He assumed that Xue Lingzi and Yu Nu had both perished, and he too did not want to continue living in this world. Just as he was about to take his own life with his sword, a blood-red longsword suddenly shot out from within the blood-colored boulder, followed by a "blood arrow" that burst forth from the cracks in the stone, dancing like a dragon and a phoenix on the ground as it wrote out a line of bloody characters: 'Forget your hatred, hide your name, and when the stone opens, will be my rebirth.'"

  The old man's story ended, and after a long sigh, he slowly muttered a few sentences: "Blood rain floats on the Blood Demon Peak, emotions like blood, sword like soul. Turn hatred into stone, wind erosion is hard to erase, pointing to the sky for thousands of years. In front of the Washing Heart Cliff, the lonely Chu Ying, empty and self-guarded, already a thousand years. When the song floats in intoxication, the sword intention points to the moon shadow, the heart guards the stone opening."

  Xie Yu Xiao now understands that Xie Lao is actually a descendant of the mysterious and hidden Hufa Wujixi.

  Xie Lao's gaze fell back onto Xie Yu Xiao's body, saying: "The Blood Spirit Child must have been to repay the karma of his lifetime, so he condensed his spirit and guarded his soul in the Blood Spirit Stone, using his spiritual power to save future generations. Although he was not reborn, he passed on all his life's work to you, so from now on, you are the second generation Spiritual Master of our Blood Spirit Sect."

  Xie Yuxiao nodded slightly, looking at Xiyu and Xiting: "Xie Bobo is the descendant of the protector of the extreme, what about Xiyu and Xiting? Are they also descendants of the Blood Spirit Jade Girl?"

  Xie Lao shook his head and said: "Xi Yu, Xi Ting were originally a pair of orphans. I took them in from a young age, taught them martial arts, all for the sake of passing on our Blood Spirit Sect's legacy."

  The story is over, and Xie Yuxiao has also finished listening. This Xie Yuxiao vaguely learned the "Xuanxue Magic Classic", and he was secretly excited in his heart, but didn't show it on his face. Although he hasn't figured out what to do as a spirit master, thinking that being a spirit master is still a kind of master, and there are also two little maidservants Xi Yu and Xi Ting who can be ordered around in the future, his heart suddenly felt carefree and relaxed.

  Unbeknownst to him, the sky outside had already darkened. Xie Yu stood up, intending to head home. But Old Xie stopped him and said: "Tonight, you'd better sleep here. There are many things I still need to discuss with you, especially regarding your cultivation of the 'Mystical Blood Demon Scripture'. Moreover, there's also the matter of you healing the leg of Second Tiger's father today. Tomorrow, the villagers will surely spread the news far and wide, and all those who are ill will probably come seeking the Holy Water from you. You won't be able to cope with these things. If you go back, the villagers will rush to your home, and I think your father's temper will definitely cause a huge commotion."

  "What's to be done?"

  "In that case, you must never let anyone know about the blood matching with the holy water, and you must not reveal the secret of your blood. As for the holy water, I'll just deceive them by saying that the 'Blood Spirit Stone' has transmitted its spiritual power to you. As long as the holy water is effective, they will believe without a doubt. At that time, I'll take advantage of the situation and promote you as the village's spiritual leader. From now on, our Blood Spirit Sect will make treating illnesses and saving people our mission, benefiting all people, which can also be considered as fulfilling the wish of our founding ancestor, Blood Spirit Son."

  "Alright then, I'll just cure their illnesses from now on."

  Xie Lao patted Xie Yu Xiao's shoulder and said, "Kid, with your current state, be extremely careful when treating illnesses and saving people. Don't be reckless, or it could lead to life-threatening danger. The Spirit Master should focus his main energy on practicing instead."

  "Uh-huh."

  The next morning, Old Xie had Xi Yu and Xi Ting accompany Xie Yuxiao to school, having them stay by her side and act as bodyguards, in case Xie Yuxiao got hurt or bled due to any unexpected accident.

  Not long after they left, a group of villagers carrying large and small gifts rushed to Xie's house to ask Xie Yuxiao for holy water. Old Xie fooled them, making Xie Yuxiao the spiritual master of the village, saying that the spiritual master was the one who protected everyone from illness, and as long as there was an illness, he would definitely cure it for everyone, only then did the villagers disperse.

  From then on, Xie Yuxiao lived a life of luxury under the protection and admiration of the villagers and Xi Yue and Xi Ting, this pair of "Blood Spirit Jade Maidens", growing up carefree day by day.